Washington -- Within a bitterly divided Congress, Rep. Richard Hanna has tried to avoid the partisan politics that dominate debate.

So it was no surprise when the first-term Republican from Central New York seized on something he thought Congress could rally around: He proposed a bill to honor federal civilian employees killed in the line of duty by giving an American flag to their families.

But hours before Hanna's Civilian Service Recognition Act was due for a vote, the American Legion raised concerns that the legislation could cheapen the existing flag honor reserved for families of military service members killed in combat. Immediately, a partisan battle erupted.

Influential Republican political blogger Erick Erickson of RedState.com encouraged conservatives to oppose the measure, which he labeled “The Flag for Bureaucrats Act.” Erickson wrote that the civilian honor would be “just another trapping of power from the federal government available to all those people in the ever-expanding federal bureaucracy.”

Chris Hayes, editor-at-large for The Nation, fired back from the left. He told an MSNBC audience that those who despise government workers “ought to be ashamed of themselves.” Hayes called Erickson’s comments “a cheap lie.”

Through it all, Hanna refused to join the fray. Instead, he took his bill back and worked behind the scenes to build bipartisan support. He met privately with the American Legion’s national commander, and clarified that the flag honor was reserved for federal workers killed in terrorist and criminal attacks, or a natural disaster. He asked Democratic and Republican committee staffers to work together and iron out minor changes in the bill’s language.

In the end, Hanna’s legislation — prompted by a letter he read in The Post-Standard — made it back to the House floor on Nov. 2 with the endorsement of the American Legion and 21 Republican and Democratic co-sponsors. The legislation passed 425-0.

On Dec. 20, Hanna was the only member of Congress that President Barack Obama invited to the White House to watch him sign the bill into law in a private ceremony in the Oval Office.

For Hanna, it was a small victory symbolic of his larger mission and challenge ahead: The moderate Republican has vowed to steer clear of the ideological wars that have produced legislative gridlock. And while many in the GOP move to the right in a nod to tea party influence, Hanna has remained planted firmly in the middle.

“I’ve learned that if I don’t engage in the popular diatribes, then I can focus on things that we can do something about,” Hanna says.

Indeed, the 60-year-old, lifelong businessman from the Oneida County village of Barneveld has quickly earned respect from his colleagues as somebody who is willing to get things done in a Congress marked by coarse debate and the lowest public approval rating in its history.

While other members of Congress are reluctant to be seen talking to representatives from the opposing party, Hanna actively engages Democrats in friendly debate, socializes with them, and is willing to shrug off the dirty looks from his fellow Republicans.

Rep. Earl Blumenauer, D-Oregon, a senior House Democrat who has spent his career in public office, said it is no coincidence that Republicans and Democrats are willing to work with Hanna.

“He’s kind of a breath of fresh air in Washington, where everybody seems to hunker down into their ideological bunkers or strap on their partisan armor to do battle,” Blumenauer, an eight-term Democrat, said in an interview.

“I think Richard, being thoughtful and kind of his own person, is getting respect from both sides of the aisle,” Blumenauer said. “There aren’t many people that have earned that, particularly as a freshman legislator.”

Blumenauer said he was impressed with Hanna’s intellect and willingness to listen.

“Unlike some of the folks in the Capitol bubble — regardless of whether they are smart — they are interested in convincing you that they are,” Blumenauer said. “He’s not one of those people you are afraid to get trapped in an elevator with. And he has a pretty independent mind."

With such bipartisan support, Hanna has introduced nine pieces of legislation in his first year representing the 24th Congressional District. So far, he has succeeded in passing three bills and two amendments — the most among the 96 House members elected in 2010.

Michelle Gabel/The Post-StandardU.S. Rep. Richard Hanna stands with his son, Emerson, 4, on their property in Barneveld after unwrapping a bale of alfalfa.

At the same time, Hanna has shown an independent streak. He is among only six of 242 Republicans in the House of Representatives who refused to sign anti-tax activist Grover Norquist’s pledge against new taxes.

So far this year, Hanna has voted with his party 85 percent of the time on significant legislation, according to a Washington Post database, placing him among the most moderate House Republicans.

Among House freshmen, Hanna is the third most likely to split with his GOP colleagues, voting against the party line 26 percent of the time, according to an analysis of 100 major House votes by Politico, a Capitol Hill newspaper.

And he’s not afraid of publicly explaining why he voted for or against a bill: Hanna is one of only two members of Congress to post on his Facebook page an explanation for each of his major votes.

Hanna made his mark early on, joining a handful of Republicans to vote against their party’s proposed spending cuts for National Public Radio, Amtrak, the National Endowment for the Arts and the Department of Energy. He told The Post-Standard in February that he thought the cuts were “draconian” and fueled by conservative ideologues in the Republican caucus.

A supporter of abortion rights and women’s health care, Hanna was one of seven Republicans to vote against an amendment that would have cut off federal funding to Planned Parenthood. This fall, Hanna was among only two Republicans who voted against a bill that would give doctors and hospitals the right to turn away any woman seeking an abortion, even when her life depends on it. The measure passed 251-172, but faces an almost certain defeat in the Senate.

“I don’t believe public money should be spent on abortion,” Hanna said in a recent interview in his Washington office. “I get that. But the idea that Planned Parenthood should not be funded? I mean they provide about 20 percent of the female population with all of their health care. And they do it at a fraction of what the cost would be if someone showed up at a hospital emergency room.”

Hanna said he is convinced many of the cuts backed by GOP conservatives and tea party members are more about making social statements than saving money. He said that was the case with a March vote to cut off federal financial aid to National Public Radio, an organization that other members of Congress perceive to have liberal leanings.

It was the first time Hanna issued a statement publicly criticizing his colleagues.

“It didn’t save a dime,” Hanna said, reflecting back on the NPR legislation. “It was sold as something that would save money, but it absolutely did not. The conversation revolved more around people not liking what they thought NPR represented. And I looked at that as a type of censorship through the power of the purse. And I thought that was wrong.”

He added, “That was the first time I ever spoke up publicly in a way that wasn’t pretty. I said, ‘This looks like political censorship through the power of the purse,’ and I meant it. And no one said anything to me about it.”

Hanna said he has not been rebuked or pressured on any vote by Republican leaders in the House, but he prefers to make his arguments behind closed doors with the party’s leadership –— not publicly on the House floor, or in dramatic speeches to the GOP caucus.

“No, I’ve never done anything like that,” Hanna said when asked if he ever directly addressed tea party members with whom he disagrees. “I’m not a bomb-thrower. And I don’t want to make news on things like that.”

He paused for a second and added, “I don’t mind where people sit in their lives. But I hate a hypocrite.”

Hanna traces his independence to his early 20s, when he took care of his mother and two sisters after his father died. He worked construction jobs to put himself through Reed College in Portland, Ore., where he graduated with a degree in economics.

He stayed in the construction business after college and built up his own residential and commercial company, Hanna Construction, before retiring after more than 30 years and turning the business over to his sister.

Today he is one of the 50 wealthiest members of Congress, with a net worth of at least $13.7 million, according to his latest financial disclosure report. He makes it clear that he’s not a congressman for the $174,000 annual salary, or the prestige of the job.

“It’s not a job I need,” Hanna said. “For a lot of people, this is their career. For me, I thought it was something I could do well. And I have a background and sense of independence that I thought could help me be the non-politician politician. That’s why I came here.”

But after only one year in office, he has grown to dislike much about Congress and Washington, and prefers the time he spends each month meeting with constituents in Central New York. He has hosted 14 “open door” days across the district, where anybody can stop in to see him without an appointment.

“It’s hard to be around people who are career politicians on a regular basis because so much of the conversation is permeated by how it affects their election and the world’s view of them,” Hanna said of life inside the Capitol. “I mean, I think about those things, too. But it doesn’t run any part of my life. I realize that for a lot of people, it does.”

He added, “That’s how this country got where it is, and the trouble it’s in. We work in two-year cycles. Everybody wants to get re-elected. And a lot of what is wrong are long-term structural problems — with big programs that we’ve built over time — that have come back to haunt us. And now everybody is looking for quick fixes, and they’re not there anymore.”

Hanna’s political foes note that when it comes to those big problems, the congressman has done little to distinguish himself from the Republican Party line.

After promising during his 2010 campaign to work to fix rather than repeal President Barack Obama’s health care reform legislation, Hanna joined Republicans in January — his first month in office — on a unanimous vote to repeal the law.

In April, he voted for a fiscal 2012 budget written by Rep. Paul Ryan, R-Wis., that would dramatically overhaul Medicare and force future recipients currently under age 55 into a voucher program to pay for private medical insurance.

“A moderate would never vote with Washington Republicans to end Medicare and make ‘draconian’ cuts to critical programs that Hanna professes to support,” said Josh Schwerin, a spokesman for the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, the campaign arm of House Democrats.

Michelle Gabel/The Post-StandardU.S. Rep. Richard Hanna is shown with his wife, Kim, his son, Emerson, 4, and his daughter, Grace, 3, at their home in Oneida County.

Hanna defended his early votes, saying he went along with the GOP majority only when it became clear no other alternatives would be offered by his party leaders. He said he viewed the health care and Medicare legislation as a way to begin long-term talks on such weighty issues, knowing Senate Democrats had the votes to block approval.

“You’ve got to vote basically yes or no,” Hanna said. “And if you’re 60 or 70 percent ‘yes,’ you have to vote ‘yes.’ You can’t just consistently do nothing or not be committed.”

Rep. Bill Owens, D-Plattsburgh, the only House Democrat who represents part of Central New York (Oswego and Madison counties), said he is one of those people who discusses the “big issues” with Hanna on a regular basis. The two congressmen from opposing sides struck up a quick friendship after meeting for the first time at Reagan National Airport in January. It led to a dinner and a budding friendship.

“We had a very nice chat,” said Owens, who represents the 23rd Congressional District “We decided that we were guys that could talk to each other. We know the people sent us here to do a job, and our constituents want us to compromise to get things done.”

Owens, a moderate in his own party who has a centrist voting record, said he and Hanna speak on the House floor before and between votes, a rarity among Democrats and Republicans.

“We talk almost every day,” Owens said. “It might be to discuss how you’re doing, or to discuss some legislation. I think people sense I’m open to the conversation. And yes, sometimes I get odd looks from members of my party when I’m talking to Richard Hanna.”

Hanna said he, too, receives stares from some Republicans, but he has no patience for ideologues at the political extreme.

“I think being approachable matters,” Hanna said. “I’m approachable from my side and the other side. I think that’s important, so people know they can trust you and that you have an open mind and you can talk about things — you don’t come with a list.”

Hanna’s independent views continue a long tradition in the 24th Congressional District, a district that includes all or part of 11 counties, including most of Cayuga and Oneida counties, and all of Cortland County.

Former Rep. Sherwood Boehlert, a Republican who represented the district for 24 years through 2006, became an influential leader of House moderates during the 1990s. After his retirement, voters elected former Rep. Michael Arcuri, of Utica, a Democrat who was a member of the moderate Blue Dog caucus in the House. Arcuri was among the most centrist voters in the House, but lost to Hanna in 2010.

Boehlert, now 75, was often referred to in the national press as an “endangered species” because of his moderate views. Since then, the number of Republican moderates have continued to dwindle, especially in their Northeastern base, Boehlert said.

“Richard is in even more of a minority than I was,” Boehlert said in a recent interview. “But I think there is definitely room for people like Richard in the party. He’s a man of conviction, and that’s what I want down there. It’s the whole Northeast brand of Republicanism that so many before me probably identified with.”

Boehlert is convinced it will be congressmen like Hanna that the Republican Party will turn to after the 2012 election — when Boehlert predicts the tea party wing of the GOP will suffer heavy losses.

“The brand of thoughtful moderation that Richard personifies will be an asset sooner rather than later,” Boehlert said. “He is a classic centrist. And I think some of the far right is going to take it on the chin in the next election. The national polling shows the national sentiment is against extremists to the left or the right. And I think they will witness a centrist comeback in 2012.”

Hanna agrees that moderates will rise again.

“Although I knew how the system worked, the majority really does rule, and it can be pretty heavy-handed,” Hanna said of the GOP’s majority in the House. “And the bigger the majority, the less desire there is to compromise. So people like me, I think, in time will be more valuable, not less. I think that deliberate action and reasoned thought, and kind of a comprehensive work ethic, is what people here need.

“I mean, you can yell all you want. But that doesn’t mean you are adding value.”